What are the 8 cards in Graveyard Control?

The most-played list in our sample runs Graveyard, Baby Dragon, Ice Wizard, Tombstone, Knight, Tornado, Barbarian Barrel and Poison. Other lists of this archetype are in the variants table.

What is Graveyard Control’s average elixir and 4-card cycle?

3.4 average elixir; the four cheapest cards (Barbarian Barrel, Ice Wizard, Tombstone and Knight) cost 11 elixir together. Costs come from the official card list.

What does Graveyard Control lose to?

In our sample, decks with Graveyard won 41.5% (±3.3) against decks with Mortar, n 848, 44.1% (±3.5) against decks with Sparky, n 750 and 46.6% (±2.8) against decks with Goblin Barrel, n 1232.

Which decks count as Graveyard Control?

A deck is filed here by its cards alone: Graveyard without a tank. The name is community vocabulary, not an official Supercell category.

How is the win rate measured?

We count ranked 1v1 battles of Clash Royale API battlelogs, top Path of Legends players from the official API — 5934 uses of Graveyard Control here, 50.7% ±1.3 points (95% interval). It is a sample, not official Supercell statistics.

Can I play Graveyard Control without Tombstone?

Another list counted under this archetype runs Tesla in its place. Same job — building (Building · Air & Ground). 1855 hitpoints (was 852, level 16)

Explain simply

English

By GamGem ResearchLast updated 24 Oct 2026

What’s new:Matchup rates, a substitution ladder and a loss checklist were added. The figures count 5,934 uses, 1 Sep – 24 Oct 2026.

Deck overview

Unofficial guide · Deck · Checked 24 Oct 2026

Graveyard Control — Clash Royale deck guide

Graveyard Control is a control deck with 3.4 average elixir and a 11-elixir four-card cycle. It won 50.7% (±1.3) of 5,934 top Path of Legends battles, 1 Sep 2026 to 24 Oct 2026.

Graveyard — Clash Royale card art (Supercell Fan Kit)

Graveyard takes towers; Baby Dragon and Ice Wizard and Tombstone anchor the defence; Tornado and Barbarian Barrel keep the cycle fast.Graveyard — Win condition: pressures the tower and forces a response. (Spell)

Avg elixir3.4

Cycle11

ArchetypeControl

Open in Clash Royale

Performance

51%

win rate

5,934games counted

Control45 lists · 2.7% of decks

51%

Wins

Draws

49%

Losses

ModeRanked · Path of Legends

Window1 Sep – 24 Oct 2026

Sample±1.3 pp

Opening hand decision tree

Graveyard in hand?

YesBaby Dragon in hand?

Safest: Wait until 10 elixir and react to their first card.Also OK: Graveyard at the bridge only after they play a 4+ elixir card.

NoIce Wizard in hand?

Safest: Wait until 10 elixir and react to their first card.Avoid: Don’t open with Ice Wizard at the bridge — hold it for their air unit.

Defensive anchors

Baby Dragon

Air answer

Win impact−0.3 pp

Usage44.2%

Stops: Air units — Troop · Air & Ground · ranged.

Unavailable if: still cycling back (you played it in your last four plays) or you are under 4 elixir.

Ice Wizard

Air answer

Win impact−4.8 pp

Usage82.9%

Stops: Air units — Troop · Air & Ground · ranged.

Unavailable if: still cycling back (you played it in your last four plays) or you are under 3 elixir.

Tombstone

Defense

Win impact±0.0 pp

Usage40.4%

Stops: Ground pushes that go for buildings; it hits its targets.

Unavailable if: still cycling back (you played it in your last four plays) or you are under 3 elixir.

Role map

Win condition

Graveyard

Air answer

Baby Dragon, Ice Wizard

Defense

Tombstone

Control

Tornado, Barbarian Barrel, Poison

Support

Knight

Three rules to win

Pressure:
Graveyard when they have just spent elixir on something else.
Defend first:
answer with Baby Dragon and Ice Wizard, then counter-push with what survives.
Draw out:
their answers with Tornado and Barbarian Barrel, then play Graveyard.

Matchups(win rate)

vs Hog Earthquake / Hog 2.6 Cycle / Hog Cycle55%

vs Golem Beatdown49%

vs Bridge Spam / Ram Control47%

vs Giant Beatdown / Giant Graveyard47%

vs Log Bait / Spell Bait47%

View all matchups →

Result breakdown

Wins51% · 3,007

Draws0% · 0

Losses49% · 2,927

One-crown and two-crown wins are not counted in this sample.

Substitution ladder

CardOption

Ice WizardFurnacein this archetype+5.1HP −9%

PoisonFreezein this archetype+4.5—

TombstoneGoblin Hutin this archetype+2.8HP −9%

Baby DragonFurnacein this archetype+2.7HP −9%

TombstoneTeslain this archetype−3.4HP −9%

Check swaps in the Deck Builder →

Loss-to-rule checklist

Tick what happened in your last loss.

Compact details

CardRoleElixirUsageWin Δ

GraveyardWin cond.5100%—

Baby DragonAir answer444.2%−0.3

Ice WizardAir answer382.9%−4.8

TombstoneDefense340.4%±0.0

KnightSupport386.7%−6.3

TornadoSmall spell351.6%+0.4

Barbarian BarrelSmall spell292.7%—

PoisonBig spell492.7%—

Compare all deck styles →

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Sources and dates

Deck battle rows · measured24 Oct 2026

Card costs & rarity · official24 Oct 2026

Card kind, targets, level rows · wiki24 Oct 2026

Plans & substitution notes · editorial24 Oct 2026

Battles counted1 Sep – 24 Oct 2026

View all sources →

Variants in the sample

Eight cards	Win rate	Uses
Knight, Baby Dragon, Ice Wizard, Tombstone, Poison, Graveyard, Tornado, Barbarian Barrel	49.4% ±2.4 pp	1,643
Knight, Skeletons, Ice Wizard, Bats, Tesla, Poison, Graveyard, Barbarian Barrel	45.7% ±3.3 pp	889
Knight, Skeletons, Ice Wizard, Goblin Hut, Furnace, Poison, Graveyard, Barbarian Barrel	50.6% ±4.3 pp	518
Bowler, Inferno Dragon, Executioner, Zappies, Golden Knight, Freeze, Graveyard, Tornado	—	297
Skeletons, Valkyrie, Ice Spirit, Goblin Hut, Furnace, Poison, Graveyard, Barbarian Barrel	—	243
Knight, Archers, Skeletons, Ice Wizard, Tesla, Poison, Graveyard, Barbarian Barrel	—	166
Knight, Baby Dragon, Ice Wizard, Goblin Hut, Poison, Graveyard, Tornado, Barbarian Barrel	—	155
Knight, Skeletons, Ice Spirit, Tesla, Furnace, Poison, Graveyard, Barbarian Barrel	—	153

Contradiction radar

3 things to know before you compare this page with another tracker.

Population: our rates count ranked 1v1 battles of top Path of Legends players only; Trophy Road, challenges and other modes are not measured.
Archetype names: “Graveyard Control” is community vocabulary — here a deck is filed by its cards alone, so another site may group the same lists differently.
Thin matchups: 3 matchup rows are under 300 decided games, so no win rate is shown.

Notes

Counted by GamGem 1 Sep – 24 Oct 2026 · builds change with balance updates and the meta.Checked 24 Oct 2026

Keep reading

Log Bait · 50.9% ±0.9 · n 11,840
Golem Beatdown · 52.5% ±1.0 · n 10,258
Electro Giant · 51.8% ±1.0 · n 9,309
Mortar Siege · 52.8% ±1.0 · n 8,965
Giant Beatdown · 51.4% ±1.1 · n 8,190
Bridge Spam · 52.3% ±1.1 · n 8,029

Graveyard Control — questions

What are the 8 cards in Graveyard Control?: The most-played list in our sample runs Graveyard, Baby Dragon, Ice Wizard, Tombstone, Knight, Tornado, Barbarian Barrel and Poison. Other lists of this archetype are in the variants table.
What is Graveyard Control’s average elixir and 4-card cycle?: 3.4 average elixir; the four cheapest cards (Barbarian Barrel, Ice Wizard, Tombstone and Knight) cost 11 elixir together. Costs come from the official card list.
What does Graveyard Control lose to?: In our sample, decks with Graveyard won 41.5% (±3.3) against decks with Mortar, n 848, 44.1% (±3.5) against decks with Sparky, n 750 and 46.6% (±2.8) against decks with Goblin Barrel, n 1232.
Which decks count as Graveyard Control?: A deck is filed here by its cards alone: Graveyard without a tank. The name is community vocabulary, not an official Supercell category.
How is the win rate measured?: We count ranked 1v1 battles of Clash Royale API battlelogs, top Path of Legends players from the official API — 5934 uses of Graveyard Control here, 50.7% ±1.3 points (95% interval). It is a sample, not official Supercell statistics.
Can I play Graveyard Control without Tombstone?: Another list counted under this archetype runs Tesla in its place. Same job — building (Building · Air & Ground). 1855 hitpoints (was 852, level 16)

Card statistics and mechanics: Clash Royale Wiki, licensed CC BY-SA 3.0. Figures reformatted, wording ours.

Card, arena and character art: Supercell Fan Kit (fankit.supercell.com), shown unchanged. Fan Kit · Fan Content Policy